Mounting head for article of jewelry containing interchangeable ornaments

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an interchangeable ornament mount for an article of jewelry having a head member defining a plurality of substantially separately operable pronged sections for gripping a removably inserted ornament inserted therein, a conically shaped spring disposed within said head member urging said ornament against the indented gripping surfaces of the prongs, an aperture being provided in a base portion of said head member for insertion of a tool to eject the ornament.

WNW ties tent ll oetel Web,22,ll972 [54] MUITJNTTNG lllllEAtlD) FUR All'lI'lltClLE @F JEWELRY @flNTAHNllNG llN'lIlERCHANGlEAMLlE URNAMIEN'HS [72] Inventor: Edward Postal, 6330 Azalea Lane, Dallas,

Tex. 75230 [22] Filed: May 14, 1969 21 Appl. No.: magma [52] US. tCl. ..63/29 ER, 29/270 [58] ll ield oil Search ..63/29, 30,26, 27

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,586,787 2/1952 Conto et a1 ..63/29 R X 2,666,306 1/1954 Lewis ..63/26 X 2,733,579 2/1956 Pfeffer et a1 ..63/29 R 2,883,048 4/1959 Lentz ..63/30 UX FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 532,008 10/1956 Canada ..63/26 161,683 4/ 1921 Great Britain ..63/26 Primary Examiner-F Barry Shay Att0rney]l(anz, Glaser & Harwood [5 7] STRACT Disclosed is an interchangeable ornament mount for an article of jewelry having a head member defining a plurality of substantially separately operable pronged sections for gripping a removably inserted ornament inserted therein, a conically shaped spring disposed within said head member urging said ornament against the indented gripping surfaces of the prongs, an aperture being provided in a base portion of said head member for insertion of a tool to eject the ornament.

3 (Ilaims, 4 Drawing; ll igures PAWFEBZZIQIZ 3,543,457

INVENTOR EDWARD POSTE L ATTORNEYS MUIJNTIING I-lllEAlD FUR ARTICLE (BF JEWELRY CONTAINING INTERCIIANGEABLE URNAMENTS This invention relates to jewelry, more particularly to an improved construction for an ornament mount, and even more particularly to a changeable ornament-setting construction.

The present day trend in the apparel industry involves rapidly changing styles in clothing, accessories, and the like. As a consequence of these rapidly changing styles, what was once fashionable wear soon becomes outmoded, and consequently discarded. The same trend appears, to some degree, in the jewelry business where many of the jewelry or ornament styles particularly adapted to complement an existing clothing style also becomes outmoded when that clothing style becomes unfashionable.

Conventional jewelry or ornament mounts designed for rings, pins, necklaces, and the like usually provide for permanent retention of the specific jewel or stone therein; thus, if a different style ornament or stone is desired to complement a new apparel style, the entire jewelry piece must be discarded and a new one purchased embodying the desired gem.

It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a mount for an article of jewelry which enables the wearer to easily remove and interchange the gem or ornament disposed therein.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and improved construction for a changeable ornament setting adapted to firmly and evenly grip any one of a number of different type and styled ornaments.

In accordance with these and other objects, the present invention is directed to an ornament mount for a jewelry piece adapted to disengageably grip the desired gem or ornament type. The mount includes a pronged head member or setting housing a spring seat, the spring seat urging the ornament into gripping engagement with the prongs. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the head member defines a plurality of separately operable sections, each section including a paired set of prongs having indented gripping surfaces. The ornament is then easily snapped into or removed from the setting.

Other features and advantages of the invention are contained in the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein identical numerals refer to similar parts, and wherein:

FIG. I is an exploded pictorial view of the ornament mount in the invention;

FIG. 2 (2A, 2B, and 2C) illustrate a cross-sectional view of the mount gripping different type ornaments;

FIG, 3 shows the removal of the ornament from the novel mount of the invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the ornament mount affixed to a jewelry pin.

Referring now to FIGS. I and 2, the ornament mount of the present invention includes a head member or setting 11, preferably somewhat circular in shape, having a peripheral wall portion 12 open at the top and tapering outwardly from the base 16. The peripheral wall portion 12 defines a plurality of flexible prongs 113 having indented gripping surfaces ll4l7 for engaging the particular ornament piece.

Disposed within the head member llll is a conical-shaped spring whose lower portion 211 rests upon or engages the base I6 of the member 11. The housing or head Ill, and the spring 20 is affixed or swedged to a portion of the particular jewelry piece by means of the rivet or eyelet 3ll. The spring serves as a seat or platform upon which the lower portion of the particular ornament 18, for example the full ball stone of FIG. I, sits. In addition, the spring 20 urges the ornament l8 upward until securely engaged by the gripping fingers or surfaces I4-ll7.

Ad indicated in FIG. 2, the mount structure ll) of the invention is adapted to disengageably grip any number of different type and styled ornaments It regardless oftheir shape. For example, in FIG. 2A a facet stone has its lower face 40 nested within and surrounded by the spring seat 20, the spring also urging thegem upward to the point where its upper ritlgc 41 is evenly hel securely by gripping fingers I l -ll In Fl 2B, a half ball gem has its flat lower face 42 riding upon the spring seat 20, while in FIG. 2C, a lower portion of the full ball gem rides within the spring seat 20. In each instance, the spring seat is in varying degrees of expansion to urge the particular ornament or gem into engagement with all of the gripping surfaces 14-117 of the prongs Ill.

As indicated in the drawings, and as a particular feature of the invention, the prongs l3 are arranged in paired sets, the sets separated from one another by elongated notches 25, thereby to provide independently operable sections. The circumferential distance between the gripping surfaces associated with a particular set, for instance between Mia and 14b, is greater than the circumferential distance between the gripping surfaces of adjacent sets, for example between l4!) and 15a. As a consequence of these features, each of the paired sets or sections of flexible prongs acts independently of one another to firmly hold and seat the particular gem. The interaction of the individual sets of prongs with the spring seat 2'!) evenly exposes the top surfaces of each of the gems shown in FIGS. 2A2C.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the mount structure ltl may be employed with many different types ofjewelry pieces, for example a ring (FIG. 3) or a pin (FIG. 4). With particular reference to FIG. 3, there is illustrated the means for removing one type of ornament for replacement by another, Accordingly, a tool 50, for example, having an extended or elongated portion SI is initially inserted through apertures in the rivet 3l and base portion 16 of the setting II, and thereafter pressed against the bottom surface of the ball 25 to disengage this gem from the grip of fingers l4-l7. It is thus seen that the spring 20 also assists in ejecting the gem from its mounting, mount 10 then being readied for the insertion of a different style stone, for example. The ornament may also be removed without the use of the tool 50 by manually drawing back on one of the paired prong sections, the spring 20 thereby ejecting the ornament from its seating position.

Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as additional embodiments, may become apparent to one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A mounting piece for an interchangeable styled article of jewelry, comprising:

a. a head member coupled to saidjewelry article, said head member having a base portion and a peripheral wall por tion defining an open cavity for containing an ornament, mounting means for detachably selectively receiving and holding any one of a plurality of ornaments having bases of different shapes, said mounting means including a plurality of prongs for snapping around. and gripping an ornament to be removably inserted in said cavity,

b. said mounting means further comprising a coil spring secured within said head member engaging said base portion for urging said ornament against surfaces of said prongs, and

c. said prongs including end portions inwardly indented,

said end portions adapted for directly engaging the ornament subsequent to said snapping action.

2. The mounting piece as defined in claim I wherein said plurality of prongs are arranged in substantially independently operable sections, each said section having a pair of said prongs, said sections being separated [from one another by elongated slots.

3. The mounting piece as defined by claim 2 wherein the circumferential distance between the inwardly indented end portions of one section is greater than the circumferential distance between the inwardly indented end portions of ad jacent sections. 

1. A mounting piece for an interchangeable styled article of jewelry, comprising: a. a head member coupled to said jewelry article, said head member having a base portion and a peripheral wall portion defining an open cavity for containing an ornament, mounting means for detachably selectively receiving and holding any one of a plurality of ornaments having bases of different shapes, said mounting means including a plurality of prongs for snapping around and gripping an ornament to be removably inserted in said cAvity, b. said mounting means further comprising a coil spring secured within said head member engaging said base portion for urging said ornament against surfaces of said prongs, and c. said prongs including end portions inwardly indented, said end portions adapted for directly engaging the ornament subsequent to said snapping action.
 2. The mounting piece as defined in claim 1 wherein said plurality of prongs are arranged in substantially independently operable sections, each said section having a pair of said prongs, said sections being separated from one another by elongated slots.
 3. The mounting piece as defined by claim 2 wherein the circumferential distance between the inwardly indented end portions of one section is greater than the circumferential distance between the inwardly indented end portions of adjacent sections. 